Fueling the SEO EngineAlyson Harrold

UC Berkeley ExtensionApril 12, 2014

Who I Am• Agency, media, corporate marketing background• Online Marketing Agency

o Collaboration of Technical & Creativeo SEOo WordPress Websiteso Online marketing auditso PPCo Content marketingo Etc, etc, etc....

Today's Takeaways1. SEO Terminology

2. Buying Cycles & Keywords

3. Real-World Practices• Keyword Research• Free Tools• Hiring SEO Practitioner• SEO Writing Template (Bonus if time)

It’s a SECRET

JARGON

SEO Definition

Keyword• Misnomer• Actually a search phrase or string

• “red patent leather shoes”• “Thai restaurant Palo Alto”

Indexed• A web page, image, or other piece of content that a search engine has added to it’s database

SERP• Search Engine Results Page

• Serves up possible answers to a search phrase, query, keyword, and now… search intent

Organic SEO• Fuel is Content

• Quality • Quantity• Recency• Relevancy

• Excludes anything Paid• Changes ALL the time

Two audiences• Human

• The most important• Pays the bills• More complex• Spots fakes• Pays the bills

• Machine• Constantly changing• Very predictable• Very important

CYCLE

Billions of Searches

Keywords

Indexed Content

SERP

Web Visits

Conversions

SEO Cycle

Search Engine Spiders & Bots

Blindly Harvest Content

Index Content at HQ

Search Engine Results Page

Search Engine Results Page

Title & Meta Description• Mini Ad• Psychology Behind It• Caution against defaults

#1 Goal of Search Engines• Deliver positive experience for the Human Searcher• Most current content• Most relevant content• Fast & responsive sites• On Topic – clear & focused message• Authority

• Other quality sites linking = votes of confidence

KEYWORDS

Keywords“An effective Web marketing plan requires an understanding of the ways your buyers speak and the real words and phrases they use. This is not only important for building a positive online relationship with your buyers, but also for planning effective search engine marketing strategies.”

David Meerman ScottAuthor, The New Rules of Marketing & PR

EXERCISE 1

Keyword Brainstorm Exercise• Groups of 3• Three Roles:

• Timekeeper• Note Taker• Receiver

• GOAL: come up with as many keywords in 5 minutes (Quantity vs. Quality)

The Buying Cycle

More About Keywords• Research• Website Architecture• Optimized Content

Keywords & Buying Cycle} Informational } Phases

} Looking For Benefits

} Comparing Features} $$$

The Buying Cycle

EXERCISE 2

Long Tail Keyword Exercise• Return to Groups of 3• Review Keyword List• Assign Keywords to Buying Stage:

• Problem / Need Identified• Research• Benefits• Features (Risk Alleviation)• Buying Decision

• GOAL: Assign a buying stage to each keyword on your list in 5 minutes

Keywords & Buying Cycle} Informational } Phases

} Looking For Benefits

} Comparing Features} $$$

BlogAnalyticsWordPress

Website Architecture

Content Marketing SEO

Elements of Keyword Research• Similar Sites• Customer Search Behaviors• Trend Analysis• Map Keywords to Buying Stage

Brainstorm

• Colleagues• Friends• Vendors• Customers

AdWords Keyword Planner

AdWords Keyword Planner

Repeat for every keyword you have

Google.com/Trends

HolidaySeason

Index of 83

Google Insights for Search

Can Drill Down to State & Metro Area Levels

More suggestions

... and in Perfect World• Analyze by benefit (# searches)• Benefit-to-Opposition Ratio• Sort by Topic• Map to Buying Cycle (Sales Funnel)• Create Website Architecture

Keywords & Buying Cycle} Informational } Phases

} Looking For Benefits

} Comparing Features} $$$

Keyword list and site

Take the list, your site’s architecture and create the columns we talked about.

ONE keyword per page.

Real World SEO• Typical to have a website built without SEO structure• Do Research Anyway (abbreviated)• Be Realistic About Competition• Use Keywords in Content

OPTIMIZATION

A Word About Optimized Content• Optimized Content = Purposeful Use of Keywords

• No Stuffing

• Natural – human first, bot second

Optimization Rule of Thumb• A word once on a page is…

• A word twice on a page is…

• A word three times on a page is…

• A Word on a Page

• A Mention

• A Keyword

Another Word About Optimization• Optimize each web page & blog post

• ONE keyword per page / post

• Use keyword research

• No Default Meta data

• Internal links to support SEO architecture

INSPIRATION

Inspiration Tools• Flickr & Other Image Repositories• Rockzi• Feedly• News360• HootSuite Monitoring• TED 3 Min Videos• Mind Mapping• YouTube

DISCIPLINE

Sustainable Writing Tips• Get clear on how you’ll add value• Regularly troll for ideas• Organize ideas for easy retrieval• Establish a consistent publishing schedule• Create an editorial calendar• Train your brain• Just Do It

Not Just for Websites

Other SEO Elements• Site Speed• Google Authorship

• Links Author and Google+ and Search• Google Plus Local (evolving from Places)• Reviews• Social Media• Low Bounce Rates

• Freeo Google AdWords Keyword Plannero Google Insight for Search (Trends)o Google Analyticso Webmaster Toolso WordPress SEO by Yoast

• Paido SEO Ranking Tool (SEOmoz)o Majestic SEOo Content Optimization Tool (Scribe)

Tools We Use

White Hat vs. Grey Hat SEO

Interview Questions• Who owns data• White Hat or Grey Hat techniques• Is any work outsourced (if so, where)• What’s the content strategy (who does what)• What’s included (training, status meetings, etc)• Benchmarks & measurements

Billions of Searches

Keywords

Indexed Content

SERP

Web Visits

Conversions

SEO Cycle

Bonus: SEO Writing Template• Focus Keyword before Writing• Title Tag (aka SEO Title)• Meta Description

• Limited characters, keywords upfront• Mini ad that sets up expectation

• URL• Relevant to title• Include keyword

Bonus: SEO Writing Template• Page Title (H1)• First Paragraph

• Keyword near beginning• Summary• Subheading

• Quality Content• Brand Voice• Scan-able• Visual Appeal

Writing Assignment• Choose 1 Keyword• Write a Headline (H1 Title – 50-70 characters)• Create:

• One paragraph with keyword in the first sentence (preferably at the beginning) or

• An outline for 3 paragraphs• Write meta description with keyword at the beginning (156 characters)